This fanfiction is for aisforangelaaa.
Their first Christmas is spent at Spencer's, because they don't have any hot water and they run out of milk, and Carly's practically hyperventilating by the time Freddie's stuffing the presents into the car along with some bags and his wailing girlfriend. Spencer smirks at Carly's ramblings and lets Freddie slump on his couch while he gets her some tea.
"Spend a few days here," Spencer hands his sister her mug and pats Freddie's shoulder. "Are you the only ones without hot water?"
"No, a water main burst down the street so everyone's without it," Freddie explains, automatically opening his arm for Carly when she sits down next to him.
"Yeah, there's an elderly couple a few doors down and their boiler's running out of juice," Carly says after a sip of her tea. "I've been lending them blankets but their house is freezing."
"They got any family?"
"No," Carly sighs, nestling into Freddie. "The lady – Julie – she was telling me that they never had any kids and they both had sisters who got cancer."
"That sucks," Spencer frowns, sitting in the armchair. "Especially at Christmas."
Freddie nods and kisses Carly's temple.
On Christmas Eve Sam arrives, dragging a wagon full of gifts and wearing a Santa hat.
"Hey guys," she says, chomping on some beef jerky. "I brought ham. It's okay now."
The tree is a real one (for once) and Freddie had accidentally brought a box of Christmas tree decorations instead of presents for his work colleagues so they decorate it that night. Sam breaks three baubles and Carly cries twice, but they finish the tree and hang fairy lights on the counter and light candles, and eventually it's all right.
They wake up on Christmas morning with snow piled high on the window ledges and white flakes floating gently down. Carly sits watching it for a few minutes while Freddie snores gently beside her. Subconsciously she reaches out to touch his fingers, feeling him react in sleep and squeeze her hand back. Her old room is still those bright shades of purple and her old photographs, though fading, still rest on her walls. She gazes around, propped up slightly against her pillow, and wonders where the years went.
Freddie stirs not much later, reaching for her, and she lets him cuddle into her side while she smoothes his hair back and kisses his cheek. This is something of a routine for them, though sometimes it's reversed. Freddie mumbles her name into her shoulder, not expecting any kind of response, and drifts to sleep again. She smiles and closes her eyes too, noticing the 7:15 glowing from her clock.
Spencer finally drags them out of bed, bouncing around like a seven-year-old and repeatedly mentioning that there are presents under the tree and can they please please open them? Freddie whines but brightens a bit when Carly pushes a present into his hands and leads him to the couch.
Sam growls when Carly gets splashface up and sticks the Christmas music on, but after a while she joins in with the chorus of last Christmas and Freddie gets Carly to waltz around with him and Spencer sets a little ornament on fire but it's okay, there's a fire extinguisher.
Carly gets make up and a new hairbrush and Sam gets a subscription to free meals every Tuesday at Chilli My Bowl, and Spencer gets The Guide To Fresh Apples (he's been looking wistfully at it in shop windows) and then Freddie gets a photo.
He doesn't stop smiling. Or kissing Carly.